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One of three suspects charged in a triple slaying last week told police they planned to steal drugs, money and guns, and that the victims -- a mother, father and 4-year-old daughter -- were killed to get rid of witnesses, court documents reveal.

On Aug. 23, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police discovered Lorenzo and Cheryl Graves and their daughter, Oznola, dead in their south Charlotte apartment.

Lorenzo Tyrone White, 27, Linny Marquise Barcliff, 20, and Joseph Louis Amous, 25, each have been charged with three counts of murder, two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy to commit robbery. White and Barcliff also each face three counts of first-degree kidnapping.

The three men conspired to rob Lorenzo Graves, according to an application for a search warrant to find evidence connected to the case.

In an interview with police, Amous said that after the killings, Barcliff told them "he doesn't leave any witnesses," according to court documents.

Lorenzo Graves' mother, Mary Williams, called police last week and asked them to check on her son and his family, documents show. She told authorities she had not heard from them in two days. The family wasn't answering the phone or the door of their home in the Quail Run apartments, off Sharon Lakes Road near South Boulevard.

Lorenzo and Cheryl Graves were shot in the head, according to documents. The girl was stabbed to death, relatives told the Observer.

After the killings were discovered, detectives contacted Amous, who was a suspect in a break-in at the Graves' apartment two months earlier, the documents say. Amous voluntarily came to police and consented to a search of his cellphone, according to court documents.

Investigators said they found text messages with a person called "L." That's when Amous admitted that White and Barcliff planned to rob Lorenzo Graves of drugs, money and guns, according to the documents.

Amous told investigators he met with Barcliff and White on Aug. 21, and the trio decided to carry out their plan that night. Amous said they talked about the possibility of having to shoot Lorenzo Graves because he had a gun, according to documents.

Barcliff went to the Graveses' apartment alone, Amous told authorities, under the pretense of buying drugs from Lorenzo Graves, the documents say. Before Barcliff left, Amous gave him his cellphone, and Barcliff later called White to tell him it was clear to come to the apartment. That's when Barcliff said he had killed the family, Amous told investigators.

Barcliff and White soon returned with marijuana, a TV, game console, swords, a cellphone and a pistol, the documents reveal.

By the next afternoon, all three men were in custody.